Lice have constituted a "plague" on mankind for many centuries. There are essentially three main types of infestation by lice specific for the human host: 1. Pediculosis Capitis 2. Pediculosis Corporis and 3. Pediculosis Pubis. Head and body infestations are caused by two different types of Pediculosis humanus. Public infestations are caused by Phthirus pubis. As the lice feed on human skin, they inject their digestive juices and fecal material into the skin. These materials, as well as the puncture wound itself, cause pruritus. The adult female louse has a lifespan of about one month and lays up to ten eggs a day which are firmly attached to hair. These hatch in about seven to nine days and become mature in another week. Currently utilized therapies for pediculosis all involve application of toxic pesticides to the scalp or body. Agents such as lindane and DDT form the first line of therapy for pediculosis. These agents are potent neurotoxins, as well as carcinogens, and are thus far from desirable agents.
I have surprisingly discovered that several commonly utilized eye drops for the treatment of glaucoma, as well as several systemically administered drugs used to control the disease myasthenia gravis, can be incorporated into creams, ointments, solutions and shampoos for topical application, and in such form are effective agents for the eradication of lice infestations of all types. The drugs which I have discovered to be particularly effective in the eradication of lice include demecarium bromide, echothiophate iodide, isoflurophate, neostigmine bromide, and neostigmine methylsulfate. Less effective than these primary agents of choice are edrophonium chloride, pyridostigmine bromide, and ambenonium chloride. The origin of my use of these agents for the treatment of Pediculosis was based upon my observations that first, I had never seen a patient with myasthenia gravis infested with lice, and second, that patients with Pediculosis pubis and glaucoma never had lice in their eyelashes, no matter how severe the pubic involvement.